To the North Sea coast from Bruges

This route takes you to the Bruges canals, where the tourist boats sail. You cycle to the port area of Bruges. Here begins the Boudewijn Canal, which connects Bruges with its seaport, Zeebrugge. Then you continue your way towards the coast. Between Zuienkerke and Uitkerke you cycle through the Uitkerkse Polders Nature Reserve, the largest nature reserve in West Flanders. You will find meadows with drinking pools, many canals and beautiful reed beds. It is the most important meadow bird area in Flanders. In the spring there are hundreds of courting meadow birds such as the godwit, lapwing, avocet, redshank and oystercatcher. In winter, the gray goose, pink-footed goose and white-fronted goose find their permanent home there. It is a landscape with low-lying saline grasslands - where brackish water bubbles up to the surface - and higher-lying fatty grasslands: the ingredients for a unique ecosystem with special plants and animals. Blankenberge was originally a fishing village where pilotage was also important. In the 19th century it became a seaside resort with the arrival of English tourism. In 1838, bathing cabins appeared on the beach. A wooden sea wall, hotels and a railway line to Heist and Bruges were built. Nowadays Blankenberge is one of the most important seaside resorts on the Belgian coast, with the 350 meter long Blankenberge pier, dating from 1933, as an eye-catcher. The seaside resort of Wenduine is also called the'Princess of the Seaside Cities\\\'. Medieval Wenduine was a fishing village and remained so until the arrival of the coastal tram in the 20th century. It is one of the few Belgian coastal municipalities with a dune area. At the seaside resort of De Haan you turn inland again to return to your starting point in Bruges.